Geranium pour Monsieur (2009)
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

For the most part I feel it's menthol not mint that governs 'Geranium'. Now in thruth I can pick out a faint trace mint, but only occasionally. I do like this, it's fresh and simple but it's just not striking enough or long enough lasting to justify the price.

Fresh, spicy, resinous, with a good drydown of musk and resins. Good for fair cool to warm weather and an upbeat mood. This has a pretty good longevity on my skin, as well as a moderate sillage. For me, this is not the best of the Frédéric Malle line, but that's because my taste runs to heavier, more complex scents. For what it is, this is very well-balanced and well-constructed fragrance.

I can tell that this would be a stunning some skin types, but on me it's primarily harsh mint with chemically overtones. The geranium leaf is beautifully done... Wish my skin could make it sing. Try before buying, but revel in it if it works on you!

I'm afraid I think the mint in this is about as subtle as a breezeblock -- whack, it's there and for a long time as well. The mint note is also quite astringent and medicinal imo and not to my liking. Some green then manages to struggle through and soften it out, but not enough for me to take to this. I suggest IO by Carthusia as a cheaper and nicer mint alternative.

Edit -- 26 August

I am no botanist but as far as I know, the geranium flower has no smell -- but the leaves have a glorious lemony smell when rubbed, which isn't represented here-- what a missed opportunity. It is basically a mint fragrance and I still don't like it.

June, 2009:

Let’s get one thing out of the way. Geranium is not, I repeat, IS NOT, in the strictest sense a floral note. To the best of my considerable horticultural/botanical knowledge, geranium flowers are utterly without scent. (By the way, the scented “geraniums” from which geranium oil is extracted and the “geraniums” that grandma grew in her window boxes are not even geraniums at all, but members of the allied genus Pelargonium.) Natural geranium oil is derived from the leaves of the rose-scented Pelargonium. While geranium shares aromachemical content – particularly geraniol – with rose, and is used in many rose reconstructions, it does not smell exactly like rose. It has a peculiar bittersweet, astringent, herbaceous-aromatic character to it, one that occupies a territory roughly bounded by mint, sage, and lavender. Those who complain that they can’t smell the geranium in Geranium pour Monsieur are probably sniffing for a rosy floral note, and they’re not going to find one in this decidedly dry, aromatic composition.

Now as for Geranium pour Monsieur, it has been a hard fragrance for me to come to grips with. I own a bottle of it, not because I necessarily like it (though I may decide I do), but because I’ve been wearing it often just to figure it out. As others have noted, it’s not actually geranium, but mint that headlines this scent, and mint is notorious as one of the hardest notes to use effectively in perfumes. Not only is it conspicuous and resistant to blending; it is also instantly recognizable, and hence distracting. On top of that come the seemingly inescapable associations with toothpaste, mouthwash, and chewing gum.

How does a perfumer employ mint without suggesting an oral hygiene product? Dominique Ropion does it in Geranium pour Monsieur by harnessing mint to a team of bitter aromatics, including geranium, that are so patently inedible that the resulting accord could never be mistaken for anything you’d willingly put into your mouth. The astringent, mildly camphoraceous aspect of geranium oil is the structural link that binds the mint to the rest of this scent’s aromatic elements, and its use in this respect it tremendously clever and original. In fact, clever and original apply to Geranium pour Monsieur’s entire structure. I can say in all honesty that I have never smelled anything quite like it.

What does Geranium pour Monsieur smell like? Well, that depends upon when you smell it. One of the most peculiar things about Geranium pour Monsieur is its development. This consists of two extremely distinct and sharply separated phases. Each of the two is resolutely linear while it endures, and the transition between them is so abrupt that it might as well be activated by a toggle switch.

The first phase is all bracing mint and bitter, savory aromatics that deliver a sharp slap in the face. The accord is cool, clean, and medicinal. It’s also unusual in that it makes no pretense of naturalism. It smells not of any recognizable collection of herbs plucked from the ground, but rather of aromachemicals (natural or otherwise), selected and arranged with pride and clear intent. In this respect it resembles certain scents from Comme des Garçons or Etat Libre de Orange’s notorious Sécrétions Magnifiques, and while it’s equally provocative, it does not employ any notes that are inherently harsh or discordant. What it does do is take olfactory abstraction to a whole new level. Sure, there’s a freshly scrubbed and shaved aspect to Geranium pour Monsieur, but this shave took place in a barbershop on Mars. Geranium pour Monsieur’s crisp, cool phase persists for an hour or two at most – not all that long, but too long for me to think of it as top notes. While it persists it is moderately potent and projects a comfortable distance from the skin: detectable at arm’s length, but never distracting.

The phase that follows is such a complete contrast that it could almost be a whole new scent. In the blink of an eye, Geranium pour Monsieur goes from icy aromatics to a soft, dry skin scent that’s built on soapy musks and sandalwood. As different from the first phase as it is in content, the second phase remains resolutely clean, and sustains the rigorously abstract style. The musks are not trying to smell “natural” in any way. They instead suggest an amplified trace of soap on just-washed skin. A true skin scent, the second phase of Geranium pour Monsieur wears very close and is detectable only at relatively intimate distances.

Upon reflection, I could almost describe Geranium pour Monsieur’s development as a much-extended display of top notes and a drydown, without the usual “heart” or middle notes that provide the core olfactory experience in traditional fragrances. Viewed this way or not, it is an extremely novel scheme that will fascinate some and frustrate others. Beyond this unusual olfactory progression, Geranium pour Monsieur represents several achievements for Dominique Ropion: he has succeeded in composing a mint fragrance that does not smell like toothpaste; he has created an aromatic fragrance for men that smells nothing like a traditional fougère; and he has built a “clean,” refreshing, modern fragrance without a trace of the stereotypical calone, ozone, fruit, or aquatic scent components. For all of this I applaud it. What I can’t decide is whether I actually like the way it smells.

August, 2009:

OK, I've decided that I like it. In a summer that has broken every temperature record in this city, Geranium pour Monsieur has proven itself an attractive and original warm weather staple. An outstanding alternative to fruity fougères and trite aquatics.

This is so intense and delicious that I simply cannot find the right words to describe it. What a totally unique, super masculin ultrafresh compliment catcher! Putting this on after a great Shower in the Morning will make You feel like You're ready to hug the whole world, and it has this mouth-watering minty note the comes and goes during the whole day. You will feel super clean, but also dangerous and... yes... COOL! I also tend to use it more and more for clubbing and Evening wear, it fits so perfectly into a smoky elegant bar or a dirty club, because You will always make a statement of freshness and coolness, no matter how dirty it gets. At the same Time, all the Acqua di Gio (and whatever else) wearers nxt to You look quite old and uncool, as soon as You enter the Place with a little Geranium pour Monsieur on.

What i cannot understand is that some people complain about the short duration of it... I spray it on 3 or 4 Times before I go out, and returning home in the Evening (or Morning ;) ), it still is there around me, and makes me feel great.
I have a Feeling that Geranium pour Monsieur will get my Signature Scent, for which I searched so long. Surprising, because I normally love all those heavier, oriental, darker Scents and don't like Acquatics or those "Fresh" Perfumes. This here totally got me, and Frederic Malle & Mr Ropion have my total Respect!

Perfection!